Circuit-closing device.



W. W. BURKE.

CIRCUIT CLOSING DEVICE. APPLIOATION FILED JARS, 1914.

. 1 09 91 Patented May 19, 1914.

i 73 a W 75 Eg 3. /Oj

WILLIAM w. BURKE, or BENNINGTON, JAMES E. BURKE AND ONE-FOURTH NINGTON, VERMONT.

VERMONT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH T0 T0 ALEXANDER J. COOPER, BOTH 0F BEN- CIRCUIT-CLOSING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 8, 1914. Serial No. 810,948.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. BURKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bennington, in the county of Bennington and State of Vermont, have invented new and useful Improvements in Circuit-Closing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electric circuit closing device particularly adapted to be used in machines employing a thread or a strand of yarn, such as knitting machines. Said device embodies in its construction a drop device which is adapted to open and close said electric circuit, the device being so constructed and arranged that when a thread or yarn breaks, or when abnormal tension is brought to bear upon said thread or yarn, the drop device will be operated to close the circuit.

The invention is an improvement as to certain specific features upon the inventions embodied in my copending applications Ser. Nos. 766,685, filed May 10, 1913, and 784,923, filed August 15, 1913, to which reference may be had.

In using my improved electric circuit closing device in connection with knitting machines, there is one of said devices employed for each feed of yarn and these difierent feeds number from six up. WVhen the circuit closing device has operated to stop the machine, by reason of too much tension being brought to bear upon the yarn in any one feed, the circuit closing lever drops back to its original position. When the machine has stopped, therefore, the operator cannot tell by glancing at the difierent stop motion devices which yarn has caused the machine to 'stop by reason of abnormal tension thereon.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide said electric circuit closing device with means whereby the operator will be enabled to tell at a glance which of the electric circuit closing devices has caused the machine to stop by reason of said abnormal tension on the yarn.

In said electric circuit closing device two cups of mercury are used as contacts to complete the electric circuit and it is very necessary that said mercury should be inclosed in cups out of which it cannot leak. These an upper part cups, in the present embodiment of my inventlon, are made of steel, containing mercury for the contacts, and said steel cups are lnserted in one portion of a two-part base which supports the lever for the circuit closing device, said cups also projecting upwardly from the lower part of said base into the upperpart and forminga firm and convenlent means for assisting in the location of one of said parts relatively to the other. The specific construction of the base with sald mercury contact cups attached thereto forms another feature of my invention.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the claims thereof.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a s1de elevat on of my clrcuit closing device.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation as viewed from the left of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on line 33 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows on said line.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 5 isa base consisting of 6 and a lower part 7 formed of insulating material. The lower part 7 is provided with two steel cups 8 which form a tight fit in split bushings 9, said bushings fitting into holes provided therefor in the base 7 The steel cups 8 contain mercury 10, constituting contacts for an electric circuit. 12 and 13 are wires forming a portion of said electric circuit connected to contact screws 14: and 15, respectively, which contact screws engage the bottoms of the bushings 9 in which the contact cups 8 are located. Qonnection is made to complete the electric circuit between the mercury contacts 10 by the two legs 16 of a drop wire 17, said legs being connected by a cross-bar 18 which constitutes a guide for a strand of yarn 19. The yarn 19 is led over a guide 20 which constitutes a scraper to the drop wire 17 thence to a guide-eye 21 which is fastened to the upper part 6 of the base. The yarn passes from the guide-eye 21 to a guide-eye 22 and from guide-eye 22 the yarn passes to the needles of the knittingmachine. The guideeye 22 is fastened to a lever 23 pivoted at 2 1 to the upper part 6. The lever 23 consists Patented May 19, 1914.

- (Fig. 1

of two side arms 25 which are connected together by a cross-bar 26 and upon this crossbar 26 is pivoted a stop 27 by means of a screw 28. An arm 29 is fastened to the crossbar 26 of the lever 28 and is adapted to enga e the cross-bar of the drop wire 17.

Under normal conditions the pivoted stop 27 is disposed at an angle, with one edge thereof resting against the upper edge of the part 6, as illustrated in Fig. 2. When abnormal tension is brought to bear upon the yarn 19 for any reason, the yarn will cause the lever 23 to tip upon its pivot 24 and move the same upwardly from the position illustrated in full lines Fig. l to that illustrated in dotted lines in said figure, whereupon the stop 27 will drop by gravity, rotating upon its pivot 28 until its lower edge rests against the upper surface of the upper part 6, as illustrated in dotted lines hen abnormal tension is released on the yarn 19 the lever will still remain in the dotted position illustrated in Fig. 1, by reason of the same being locked in said position by said arm 27 resting against the upper surface of the part 6.- It will thus be evident to the operator of the machineat a glance which of the particular circuit closing devices has completed th circuit and caused the machine to stop by reason of abnormal tension on the yarn. When the difficulty has been remedied by the knitter he throws the stop 27 outwardly upon its pivot 28 into the position illustrated in Fig. 2 and the lever 23 is then free to rock upon its pivot anddescend to the position illustrated in full lines (Fig. 1) or to a position in which the crossbar 26 rests upon the upper surface of the part 6. Then when the machine is threaded and in operation the normal tension on the yarn will lift the lever 23 slightly to the position illustrated in Fig. l and the parts will then be in the operative position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 in full lines. hen the lever 28 has been tipped as hereinbefore described by reason of abnormal tension upon the yarn, the end of the arm 29 which bears against the drop wire 17 will push said drop wire downwardly until the points of the legs 16 of said drop wire contact with the mercury 10 in the cups 8 and the circuit then being completed the machine will be stopped by mechanism actuated by the closing of said circuit as fully described in said application for Letters Patent No. 766,685 filed May 10, 1913.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is;

l. A circuit closing device having, in combination, an electric circuit including a drop device adapted to open and close said circuit and constituting a guide for a strand of yarn, a plurality of guides for said yarn,

means actuated by an abnormal tension on said yarn adapted to engage said drop device and move it to close said circuit and means adapted to lock said first-named means in position to indicate that said circuit has been closed.

2. A circuit closing device, having in combination, an electric circuit including a drop device adapted to open and close said circuit and constituting a guide for a strand of yarn, a plurality of guides for said yarn, a lever adapted to engage said drop device, a guide for said yarn mounted on said lever whereby, when under abnormal tension, said lever may be rocked by said yarn to move said drop device to close said circuit, and means adapted to lock said lever in the position to which it is rocked by said yarn to indicate that said circuit has been closed.

3. A circuit closing device having, in combination, an electric circuit including a drop device adapted to open and close said circuit and constituting a guide for a strand of yarn, a plurality of guides for said yarn, a lever adapted to engage said drop device, a guide for said yarn mounted on said lever whereby, when under abnormal tension, said lever may be rocked by said yarn to move said drop device to close said circuit and a stop pivoted to said lever and adapted to engage a stationary part and lock said lever in the position to which it has been rocked as aforesaid to indicate that said circuit has been closed.

4. A circuit closing device having, in combination, an electric circuit including a drop device adapted to open and close said circuit and constituting a guide for a strand of yarn, a plurality of guides for said yarn, a lever adapted to engage said drop device, a base to which said lever is pivoted, a guide for said yarn mounted 011 said lever whereby, when under abnormal tension, said lever may be rocked by said yarn to move said drop device to close said circuit and a stop pivoted to said lever and adapted to engage said base and lock said lever in the position to which it has been rocked, as aforesaid to indicate that said circuit has been closed.

5. A circuit closing device having, in combination, a base, a pair of steel cups containing mercury located in said base and constituting a pair of contacts and a drop wire forming a portion of an electric circuit and constituting a guide for a strand of yarn, said drop wire having two legs projecting through holes provided in said base in alinement with said contacts.

6. A circuit closing device having, in combination, a base comprising an upper part and a lower part formed of insulating material, means to lock said parts together, a pair of steel cups containing mercury located in said lower part, said steel cups projecting from said lower part into holes provided in said upper part and a drop wire my hand in presence of two subscribing forming a portion of an electric circuit and witnesses. constituting a guide for a strand oi yarn, WILLIAM W BURKE said drop wire having two legs pro ect1ng through said holes in alinement with the Witnesses: mercury of said contacts. F. B. PACKARD,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set ROBERT E- HEALY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

